Teams Use Testing At Charlotte To Fine-Tune Gen-6 Car For 2013
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 18, 2013) – After rain interrupted day one at Charlotte Motor Speedway, teams tested all day and into the evening under the lights on Friday. Fans and teams have embraced the Gen-6 car, but test time is still crucial as Speedweeks in Daytona nears.
Each test has been an opportunity for crew chiefs and drivers to understand the new characteristics of the Gen-6 car. The playing field has been leveled out as all teams have had an equal amount of time to prepare for the 2013 season and Speedweeks, which begins with The Sprint Unlimited (Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. on FOX, Motor Racing Network Radio and SiriusXM Satellite Radio) and culminates with the 55th running of the Daytona 500 (Feb. 24 at 1 p.m. on FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM Satellite Radio).
The Gen-6 car offers a clean slate to teams, including Jeff Burton and his No.31 Richard Childress Racing team as they look to rebound after a 2012 season that resulted in a 19th-place points finish.
“I think that by anybody’s measurements we didn’t have a good year through the company last year,” Burton said. “We went almost the whole year without winning a race. I think it is easier to start over than it is taking an existing vehicle and starting over. It gives us a chance to stop and say ‘okay what is the best way to develop a car’ and through that, build a program that works for that. I think the timing of that is good for RCR [Richard Childress Racing] in general. Whether that will yield results or not, we will see. I think the timing of it is good for us.”
Today’s session, which was again delayed by weather, was an opportunity for teams to find some extra speed and fine-tune their Gen-6 cars.
“This is the deal where we all roll out new cars at the same time and everybody is trying to get a jump on the rest of the guys,” said Martin Truex Jr, driver of the No. 56 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. “We’re going to get as much time on the track as we can get.”
Aric Almirola topped the charts with a top speed of 194.021 mph to round out the last open test before the start of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for one of North America’s premier sports. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 175 countries and in 25 languages. In the U.S., races are broadcast on FOX, TNT, ABC/ESPN/ESPN2, SPEED, Motor Racing Network, Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM Radio. NASCAR fans are among the most brand loyal in all of sports, and as a result more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport. NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), four regional series, and one local grassroots series, as well as three international series. Also part of NASCAR is GRAND-AM Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series, known for competition on road courses with multiple classes of cars. NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races at 100 tracks in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., NASCAR has offices in eight cities across North America. The next NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race will be The Sprint Unlimited at Daytona on Feb. 16 on FOX. For more information and a complete schedule, visit www.nascar.com. Follow NASCAR on www.facebook.com/NASCAR or on Twitter: @NASCAR.
I have been a NASCAR fan my entire life and I would listen to the races on the radio as a child. I think NASCAR has done a great job in keeping things on a level playing field. But just like anything there will be teams that will get more from the Gen 6 cars than others and to me this is what makes it the challenge that it is. It takes luck if want to call it that but it also takes know how to make these cars work like you want. I am patiently waiting for Feb. 16 and look forward to a great year in racing. Lets go Dale Jr.